A Vampire Wedding
by Nicholas Lucien
Summary: Janette plans a wedding. This story was written for cheryl24 to the prompt: "A vampire wedding between Nick and Janette." And from such a prompt this is what my mind came up with. Ideas for a vampire wedding, along with the words spoken during the wedding, came from various sites that give ideas for such a theme and give detailed speech and vows to use. I don't own the characters
1. Chapter 1

"You're getting married?"

Janette remained seated on the dark leather couch, hands in her lap, and forced herself to stay composed. Nicolas, in contrast, had abruptly left her side and backed away towards his piano. Through their link, she could feel what she knew was a small portion of the much larger upheaval that was occurring within him. Janette quickly glanced at the coffee table where two empty wine glasses and a full bottle rested. She had known this was going to be a delicate subject with him. Between their own marriage and separation, then later Nicolas' marriage to Alyssa and her death that very same night, Janette knew that a wedding day was not always viewed by him as a happy occasion. Compounding the problem, she knew, was Nicolas' tendency to reach an immediate, and often incorrect, conclusion simply because he did not wait to hear everything. "No, Nicolas," she gently began.

Nick's retreat was stopped when he bumped into the side of the grand piano. "You said that you're planning a wedding," he gruffly reminded her.

"I am planning a wedding," Janette explained as she gracefully rose up from the leather seat, "arranging everything for another couple." She slowly glided over to him, relieved that he had not moved away as she got closer.

Nick watched Janette approach him, mesmerized as always with her and how she moved. He silently chided himself for having jumped to that conclusion, then wondered why she had visited. She rarely came over to his loft and definitely not without a reason. The only thought he could come to was, once again, Janette was trying to coax him back into the Community. "And do I have a part to play in that arrangement?" he tentatively asked, convinced she would want more than just his physical presence, but his direct involvement.

"I came to extend an offer to attend the ceremony."

Nick eyed her narrowly. His first inclination was to stay out of Community gatherings, wanting to keep his distance from other vampires and from that lifestyle. He also recalled LaCroix's words about his own wedding to Janette. "Why?" he suspiciously asked.

"So that I am not alone," Janette partially answered. "It is unlucky to be unescorted at a wedding."

"Hmmm. And here I thought it might have been to talk them out of what will inevitably become a ruination."

"You do not mean that _mon chéri_," Janette replied while reaching her hand towards his, confident what Nicolas had said was only due to his current raw emotional state. She could sense their connection vibrating more as her hand got closer. She finally touched his skin, her gloved fingers just beginning to skim over his, when Nicolas abruptly flinched. To her dismay, he quickly moved away from her again, and out of her field of vision. She remained where she was and suppressed her own emotions so Nicolas would not pick up anything, which could agitate him more. After a few moments, she noticed movement in her peripheral vision and turned to see that he was now sitting on the piano bench, staring blankly at the keys. Eventually, Nicolas placed his fingers on the instrument and began to softly play. Janette listened for a while, recognizing the piece as one he often played for her, then went over to sit next to him on the bench. "We were not completely destroyed by it."

Nick had shifted so there was space on the bench for her, which resulted in having to concentrate more and extend his reach further than usual to strike the correct keys. "We built …," he began, then stopped. "We tried, but …." Nick quickly glanced at her before refocusing on his finger positions, though even that activity didn't distract very long from the memories that were surfacing. "Was there really any part of being married to me that you liked? Any part you actually miss?"

Janette let him play a little while longer, then gently placed her left hand over his right one. Nicolas did not pull away from her this time, though he did stop playing. "There were some parts," Janette answered as she stroked his fingers.

"How many years had I asked before you finally agreed to marry me?"

Janette smiled, remembering his various attempts. "At least twenty, I believe."

Nick turned to face her. "I did keep up a long and determined siege," he said, with a lopsided grin.

"And you were so overjoyed when I said I would." She lifted her hand off of his and gently touched the smooth piano keys. "That is the same amount of joy I see in this couple."

"So what type of wedding are they wanting?" Nick asked as he placed his hand on Janette's, his thumb stroking the side of her covered hand. "Obviously a religious Church wedding is out of the question."

"They want a vampire wedding."

Nick tilted his head, brow furrowed in slight confusion. "Well, of course, since they're vampires, that would make it a vampire wedding."

Janette slightly shook her head. "No, the bride and groom are both mortal and will remain so."

"What? Then why are you-"

"Come," Janette coaxed as she rose, gently encircled Nicolas' wrist, and guided him back to the leather couch. Settling down, she reached over for the bottle of bovine blood she had brought over. This one had not been easy to acquire and was very expensive. Smuggled out of the slaughterhouses in Kobe, Japan, it was rumored that, when alive, these few prized cattle were kept happy and relaxed with daily massages and drinks of beer while listening to classical music. And if she was going to drink animal blood for Nicolas, it would be the best she could get.

Nick watched as she opened and poured out a dark red liquid from the bottle into an empty wine glass. Janette handed the full glass to him, but he immediately placed it back down on the table. "Why are you arranging a mortal's wedding?" Nick couldn't believe she had that close of a relationship to a mortal that one would ask her to help with such an event.

Janette began to fill the other glass. "They came to me because they liked the ambiance of the nightclub and it was where they had first met each other."

"So you know them?"

Janette shrugged as she put the bottle back down. "They were obviously customers at some point."

Nick leaned slightly back into the leather cushion. "And the others, the Community? To bring that many mortals into-"

"The Raven is hardly a lion's den," Janette interjected. She took a deep breath. "Well, maybe," she conceded. "But if someone wants to use the space .…"

"But why are you agreeing to such a thing?"

"Well, why not?" Janette huffed. "The normal patrons do not leave as big a tip as you might think and these mortals have agreed to pay. Alma, of course, is ecstatic. She's always wanted to decorate for a wedding, and it's not as if our kind have many of those."

Nick remembered when LaCroix had lectured him about the pointlessness of a wedding, of declaring to be forever committed physically and emotionally to a single vampire other than one's maker. That maker/offspring bond, LaCroix had insisted, was never to be usurped by another, could never be equaled by another bond. It was a lesson he couldn't agree with, especially when Janette was near. Vampires had the urge to not be tethered to others, but to freely wander: it was the only way to survive. Yet he felt that urge to wander, not alone, but by her side. So he had continued with the wedding. Over the following decades he had never felt trapped or overwhelmed by Janette, though she had apparently felt that way with him. And then one day she had wandered away without him. "Well," Nick flatly replied, "there is a reason we don't normally wed."

"And," Janette continued, having detected his emotional shift and hoping to distract Nicolas from returning to the turmoil from earlier, "you can charge a lot for arranging such a wedding since not many venues or businesses want to be associated with this type of theme. So," she hesitatively ventured after pausing, "will you agree to come?"

"When is it?"

Janette steeled herself for the reaction she knew Nicolas would have. "Saturday of next week."

"No," Nick growled. He slid along the couch to the end furthest from her. "How could you agree to arrange a wedding on that date and then ask me to be there with you?"

Janette felt their link chaotically vibrate as he moved away. She also saw the flecks of crimson before his eyes closed and he turned from her. "It was the date they wanted-"

"You couldn't convince them to select a different one?" Nick interrupted.

Janette stifled her sharp retort to the assumption that she run her business around his emotional turmoil and that others should also adjust their schedules to him. "No," she calmly explained instead, "they had an arrangement, an engagement period of exactly one year and one day. That is why they insisted on an evening wedding, and it had to be that night."

Nick forced himself to calm down and tried to concentrate on something. Scanning around the loft, he focused on the wooden display case which, until recently, had housed a painting of Janette. Inspired by Schanke's reconciliation with Myra and the healing of that rift, he had realized he needed to do the same with Janette. So now she had the painting he had kept from her for so long and they had come to a better relationship. "A handfasting?" Nick took a few deep breaths, then looked back at her. "Been a while since I've heard of that." Nick looked down; all he ever wanted was to make Janette happy and here he was lashing out at her, unraveling the new headway they had been making. "I'm sorry for the way I acted," he apologetically stated.

Janette slid closer to Nicolas. "I understand." She reached over to get his wine glass and handed it to him. "So, will you come?"

As Nick accepted the glass again, he was more aware that the liquid wasn't human and that she intended to drink the animal blood as well. Such a gesture meant a lot to him, considering that she and LaCroix often tried to tempt him back to human blood. Nick knew this meant that she had not come over to fight him, but accept him and be with him. And he enjoyed being with her, and if that meant attending a wedding …. "Alright, I'll be there."

"Thank you, Nicolas."

"It will be an interesting way to spend the anniversary of our wedding," Nick said with a sad smile as he raised the glass to his lips.


	2. Chapter 2

Nick alighted on the roof of the building which housed the Raven. He had decided earlier that evening it would be easier to fly over rather than drive and find parking away from the club since the wedding guests would probably want to park as close as possible. Parking concerns gave a legitimate excuse to himself to forego mortal methods of travel and instead use vampire means. He had always enjoyed flying and savored the lingering calming feeling of release as he went to the entrance that would take him inside the building. Nick grasped the doorknob, took a deep breath, and forced himself to remain calm as he entered. Memories of his weddings, and their endings, had been surfacing since Janette had asked him to come, disturbing his sleep and making him increasingly agitated. He silently walked down a corridor on the second floor and began to take off his duster. Nick immediately tensed when he felt hands on his shoulders, gripping the jacket and sliding it down.

"Let me take that, Nicolas."

Nick slightly relaxed and let her take the coat; he had been so anxious with meeting her he hadn't even felt her approach. As he turned around, he paused to look at her. Janette was wearing a long black dress with sleeves in sheer black lace ending at her wrists. Her dark hair was done up, exposing her graceful neck that had a dark red choker wrapped around it. "You look beautiful," Nick whispered as he leaned over to kiss her cheek.

Smiling, Janette returned the kiss while reaching her hand towards him when, to her dismay, Nicolas broke contact and quickly pulled away. She continued to smile, though she wished the intimate moment could have lasted longer. Janette folded his coat over her arm while taking in his appearance. Mirroring her color scheme, he was wearing a black suit, black shirt, and black waistcoat, while his necktie was a dark wine color. "You do look very handsome tonight," she hummed.

Nick reached out to reclaim his coat. "Well, you said they wanted red and black for the wedding."

Janette moved her arm back, keeping Nicolas' coat just out of his reach. "Alma," she called out, addressing the person who was coming up behind Nicolas and extending the coat to her. The other woman took the coat as she passed them and continued down the corridor. "Now," Janette said, "let us go downstairs. I want to show you what we have come up with before everyone arrives."

Nick turned and dutifully followed Janette down to the first floor where the bar was. The area was cleared out, making ample open space for the wedding. Small tables and chairs were set up along the side walls. Walking over to the bar, he saw plates stacked up behind the counter, along with a large glass punch bowl and many cups. On the counter behind the bar he noted a combination of unopened red wine bottles and many with blood mixed with wine. "You're expecting vampires to be here? I thought you said the club was closed for the night."

Janette glided over to him. "Yes, the club is closed, but some of the Community wanted to be here."

"And the bride and groom know this?"

"Firstly, Nicolas, a wedding is a time for celebration so many should attend to share in that. Secondly," Janette continued as she placed her hands on the smooth bar, "not many of the couple's family and friends understand or want to be associated with this type of non-traditional wedding. The couple is happy that the empty space of those missing relations will be filled with others who do want to be a part of this." She noted his dubious expression. "They know to not hunt or lure anyone tonight." Nicolas did not seem to be convinced by her promise. "Really, they just want to be included and are pleased they are being welcomed to this." As a distraction, Janette reached around the bar and grabbed a filled bag and put it on the counter. "All the mortals will get to wear one of these."

Nick glared at the bag full of white plastic vampire teeth. "Ah, and our kind will get to extend their own?"

Janette put the bag back. "No one will notice the difference. Anyway, the bar is ready to serve either blood, wine, or a Ribena punch. The cake will be brought out later and served from the bar as well."

"The cake?"

"Very tasteful. Multi-tiered, with white icing and black icing roses. The bride requested the cake be blood-red red velvet." She thought back to her wedding to Nicolas. There was no cake, or any other mortal food, as every guest was a vampire. Generously, LaCroix had provided the sustenance for everyone: mortals, meticulously selected by him and hypnotized to remain quiet and completely unresisting.

"At least the cake isn't shaped like a human." Nick clenched his eyes and partially turned away from her, trying to forget the memory of their wedding reception and how, at the time, he had not thought anything wrong with what had occurred. Nick experienced, once again, the repulsion and guilt he should have felt at the time. And considering their maker …. "Where is LaCroix?" he asked, looking at Janette again. Nick hadn't felt the elder, but that didn't mean he wasn't close by.

"He will not be in attendance." She had asked if he had wanted to be here, but LaCroix had declined for reasons he did not choose to share. "Most likely he will be doing his show." Janette shifted slightly as Alma and some others came into the room bringing chairs and other decorations. She gently led Nicolas out of the club area and into one of the private rooms where other material for the wedding was being stored. Janette indicated the collection of clear glass serving bowls filled with pomegranates. "These will be placed around as decoration or if anyone wants to eat them. Miklos will use some, adding the arils into the punch," she explained. Pointing to another table, she indicated small glass vases which were filled with sweat peas flowers of dark purple and white. "These were delivered today from Humber Nurseries. And this," Janette said while touching the single antique cut crystal goblet on the table, "is the cup the bride and groom will drink from during the ceremony."

"Let me guess, with this theme, it would be filled with wine and their own blood?"

"Just undiluted Ribena," Janette corrected, "so an acceptable substitute." Nicolas silently followed behind her as she went over to another table, which held only one item: the bride's bouquet. "An exquisite combination of black roses and deep burgundy calla lilies."

Nick reached out to delicately touch the arrangement. A profusion of flowers had been at both his weddings: he vividly remembered their colors, their fragrances, and their textures. As his fingers moved gently along the bouquet, he touched something sharp that made him instantly stop and retract his hand.

"A thin wooden stake," Janette explained. "Not my idea, but what the bride wanted – it will show that she will not accept the groom if he is ever unfaithful to their vows. She will stake him in the heart, hurting him as he had hurt her."

"Yes," Nick concurred, "wooden stakes hurt. Though sometimes not as much as emotional wounds to the heart." He backed away from the bouquet. "Only one stake?"

"He will only be unfaithful once. More is not necessary." Janette shifted her focus from the bouquet to Nicolas, who had his back turned towards her.

Nick still felt a portion of the pain caused by Janette walking out of their marriage. Decades later they met again, though she never discussed the marriage, and it had hurt too much to reopen that wound so he didn't bring it up either. But recently he was trying to finally heal with her and talk about it. "I want you to know, Janette, when we were married, I never broke my vow to you." He paused, but there was only silence in the room. "Even after. For a long time after."

Janette was about to respond when Nicolas quickly exited the room. She could sense he had not gone far away, so he would keep his word and attend the wedding, but he clearly did not want to talk anymore. Alma entered the room and Janette sighed as she helped to move the bowls. Saying she had also kept her vow long after she left would have to wait.

With her help, they had arranged everything in time for the wedding and got all the attendees in place, including making sure everyone who needed plastic fangs had them. Sitting in the back with Nicolas to her right, Janette had watched the bride, dressed in a white gown edged in red and holding onto the bouquet, walk up and stand next to the groom, who was attired in a white shirt, red vest and tie, and a black suit. The ceremony began shortly after that, with the Celebrant intoning the ceremonial rites. She turned slightly to glance at Nicolas. Though he had not spoken to her since the conversation over the bouquet, she could sense he was not as distant from her as his silence would otherwise imply. He was, she could see, staring at the bride and groom, but the glazed look in his eyes meant he was remembering something from the past. She turned her attention back onto the mortals.

"We are gathered here this night because two souls have cried out for union. They had been alone, then fate brought them to each other and they have walked together for the allotted time. They have realized they have no desire to return to their solitary paths, but wish to build a new path and walk that one together."

While the maid of honor brought over the crystal goblet and the best man filled it, Janette tentatively placed her hand on Nicolas', then felt as his hand slid away. Slightly disappointed, but understanding, she placed her hand back on her lap.

As the bride and groom spoke of their love and the drink in the cup representing their blood, Nick turned to look at Janette. He had felt her touch and, in surprise, had moved away. Nick resumed watching the mortals drink from the goblet. Remembering how hesitant Janette had initially been about marriage to him, and never discussing it after their separation, he had not expected her to reach out to him during this wedding.

Janette watched as the groom took a sip from the cup after the bride had done so. As the cup was handed back to the maid of honor, Janette felt pressure on her hand. She continued to watch the ceremony while Nicolas' larger hand enveloped and cocooned her smaller one.

"Everyone here has born witness to your commitment to each other, shown with the blood of devotion you have drunk in their presence. You declare that you want your souls to be bound together by your love. Even if death should physically separate you, this bond will remain. Remember, nothing is more eternal than a vampire's love. If you understand this and are ready to follow this commitment and swear yourselves to each other and enter the binding union, then speak your personal vows to each other."

Janette listened for a while as the groom and bride voiced their promises to each other. She then leaned over and whispered to Nicolas, "Remember when we spoke our vows?"

Nick barely heard the rest of the mortal's vows as remembered his own. Exclusivity. They had publicly vowed to the Community they would never take any other vampire as a lover; to never, in passion, drink another vampire's blood; to never, in passion, touch any other vampire. Forever. An immutable bond to equal the eternal bond between maker and offspring. That all the love he had would go exclusively to her. And that final promise, Nick sadly mused, was the part he thought would cleave them together but would actually cleave them apart. "We were very young and naive," Nick replied instead of saying what was actually on his mind.

Unbidden, Janette smiled and suppressed the quick laugh that tried to break out. They had been lovers for almost two hundred years before their wedding, hardly making them young or innocent.

Nick grinned in response to her honest, open smile and burst of unguarded emotion that vibrated through their link. Too often Janette kept herself contained, so he liked that something had managed to slip through. Nick looked down at her hand and stroked his thumb along her skin, enjoying that there was no glove barrier, while he considered what he had picked up from her. What he had felt was just like what he experienced from her at the beginning of their marriage. Nick hadn't experienced that from her for centuries and realized a part of him was immediately responding.

"Everyone who came tonight did so to share in witnessing the rite and vows that have bound you both together forever. They, and your own hearts, know that you two are eternally wed. You may now kiss and show us all your passion."

Nick didn't watch the kiss, and the joyous shouts and hisses registered no more than background noise to him. Instead, he was focused on Janette, seeing the golden flecks of passion in her bright blue eyes. He turned her hand over and stroked her right wrist where, at the conclusion of their wedding, he had bitten and drunk her blood instead of kissing.

Janette closed her eyes momentarily, enjoying Nicolas' touch. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes and got up, his hand dropping away from hers. "I have to get the reception set-up." As she moved past him, she reached over to his right wrist and gave a single stroke along where she had bitten him and felt their link vibrate. She knew the intense passion she had tasted back then was still present in him now, it was just behind that still-hurting wound.

After the cake had been cut and the various wedding guests had gotten their drinks, Nick found himself wandering in the back of the club looking for Janette. As he passed by one of the small rooms where mortals and vampires had gathered to listen to the radio, he heard LaCroix's resonant voice fill the air.

"_Those we have been bonded to in love, but have left, eventually will find their way back to us. And sometimes, gentle listeners, they may have needed a little help to finally get there_."

Shaking his head slightly at the choice of his maker's lesson for the night, Nick finally found Janette in a secluded back corner sitting at a table with a bottle and two wine glasses. He slid into the open chair next to her.

"I think the event went well, and Alma can handle anything else that might come up."

Nick smiled. "It was very well done." He warily watched her open the bottle. "House special?"

The corner of Janette's lip rose upward. "No," she said as she poured out the red liquid. "Something special for you. Another bottle from Kobe. I thought it might be a good way to end the evening." She looked up into his slate blue eyes. "What do you think?" Janette inquired as she handed him a glass.

Nick accepted the glass, then immediately placed it on the table. "I think it might be a good place to start," he replied as he kissed her wrist.

Janette smiled as she reached for her glass. As guests slowly left she and Nicolas talked and drank. She thought about how their relationship had been during their marriage – there was the physical part, but also Nicolas was so emotionally open to her. It enveloped her, his love, and she had thought it would eventually diminish down. But it had not, and in fact, had grown, and towards the end, she had felt smothered and constrained, so she had left. They would eventually come back together, but their relationship had not been the same. Nicolas would still be as physically attentive as before, but emotionally he was distant. He had blocked himself off, and the deep love that had poured out so easily and without end, had stopped. The core of him she could no longer touch, no matter how hard she had tried. But lately, there had been a change. Nicolas had brought back her painting, and Janette realized he finally wanted to begin healing.

Everyone had left the Raven by the time they had finished the bottle. She gathered up the empty glasses and bottle, then headed to the bar to deposit them for cleaning later. Nicolas had followed her, and she turned around to face him, seeing his eyes were golden and feeling their connection vibrating. As he leaned in towards her, she reached up to pull him closer for a deeper kiss. She ran her fingers through his dark blond hair, stopping at the nape of his neck as he pulled back slightly after the kiss was over. Janette expected Nicolas wanted to say something, but instead he reached up to the back of her neck and undid the closure of her choker. He gently slid it along her skin as he took it off, then carelessly let it drop. Nicolas leaned in again to kiss her now bare neck, and Janette tilted her head slightly to give him better access. Soon the kisses were a bit rougher, and she could feel his extended fangs behind his lips. She also felt Nicolas begin to open up as he had before. Janette let go and pulled back from him. "Knowing how it would end, would you have still insisted on marrying me?"

Nick looked into her golden eyes. Janette had been right, he would always love her, nothing changed that, even when he had tried to hide it from her and from himself. "Yes," he rumbled. "I didn't mean to drive you away." He knew to not overwhelm her, so only let a small portion of his love for her flow through their link as he kissed her again.

After a few kisses they broke contact. Janette felt his love envelop her, but not overwhelmingly. She rumbled as her fangs dropped. "You asked me what part I missed. It was this part." Cocooned in his love, she embraced it as she sank her fangs into his neck. Almost immediately there was a sharp pain in her neck where Nicolas had bitten her. The blood exchange became circular and Janette let herself be swept away in his fervent passion as she had done centuries ago on their wedding night.


End file.
